Rail fastener



RAIL FASTENER Filed Dec. 1, 1936 v I i V /l// /,l

WIT/(5555 INVENTOR.

ai /0 @2- BY wfi d arrw A; ATTORNEYS.

to a metal supporting member, which is one- Patented Oct. 26, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT RAIL FASTENEI;

Application December 1, 1936, Serial No. 113,661

2 Claims.

This invention relates to fasteners for clamping railroad rails to metal supporting members such as tie-plates or structural members.

A great many types of fasteners have been suggested for this purpose, but they are either complicated in construction, expensive, diflicult to apply or unsafe to use due to breakage. A further major disadvantage is that, as far as I know, none of them can beused with tie-plates provided only with ordinary spike holes for re ceiving them. That is, they all require tie-plate openings of special size and shape.

It is among" the objects of this invention to provide a rail fastener, for clamping a rail piece, inexpensive, durable, simple in construction, and adapted to be inserted through an ordinary spike hole or "its equivalent.

In accordance with this invention a rail is clamped on a metal supporting member, such as a tie-plate or a structural member, by a unitary fastener that extends through an opening in the supporting memberat the edge fo the rail base. This opening may be an ordinary spike hole or the like which is .generally square and in the neighborhood of three-foiu'ths of an inch wide. The fastener has a vertical shank that extends through the opening, a laterally-extending arm at its upper end engaging the top of the rail base and a lateral projection at its lower end engaging the bottom of the supporting member. As the upper arm is distorted upwardly'when the fastener is applied to the rail base, the rail is securely'clamped to its supporting member. The upper portion of the shank of thefastener is substantially as large as the opening through the supporting member, whereby it is impossible, "because of the lateral projection at its lower end, to insert the fastener in the opening in the ordinary way. To circumvent this difiiculty the lower portion of the shank is beveled downwardly toward the lateral projection, so that when the shank is tilted at an angle to the axis of the opening the width of the portion being inserted is not quite as great as that of the opening. When the lateral projection reaches the lower end of the opening it is moved laterally under the bottom of the supporting member as the shank is brought to an upright position. The fastener is inserted in the opening when its upper arm is in some position other than above the rail base, but as soon as the shank is swung into upright position the fastener is turned until its upper arm engages the rail base up onto which it is then driven.

The upper arm is so formed that only its inner I end engages the rail base, the remainder of the arm forming a bow through which the bending stress of distortion is distributed thereby decreasing the strain at any one point and greatly reducing the chance of breakage.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, a tie-plate l, mounted on a cross tie 2 in the usual manner, 7

is provided on its upper surface .with a rib 3 extending transversely thereof and forming a shoulder that defines one side of a rail seat and prevents lateral movement of the rail base 4 in that.direction. The tie-plate is provided adjacent the opposite edge of the rail base with a vertical opening 6 which may be the ordinary substantially square spike hole found in common tie plates (Fig. 2). Likewise, the cross tie may hav a vertical hole 1 directly below the one in the plate as the result. of a spike having previously been used with the tie-plate for holding the rail in place.

In order to hold therail down on its seat in accordance with this invention, a one-piece fastening member or clamp 8 made from a rod bent to shape :is disposed in the opening in the tie-plate with its shank 9 vertical. Projecting laterally over the rail base from the upper end of the shank is an arm ii integral therewith, whilethe lower end of the shank has a lateral projection or lug l2, preferably in the same vertical plane as the arm, for engaging the bottom of the tie-plate. Consequently, the rail base and tie-plate are clamped together by the arm and lug of 'the fastener.

The major portion of the shank of the fastens or is substantially as large as the tie-plate opening, so that the combined width of the upper portion of the shank and lug is greater than the width of opening 6 and it is therefore obviously impossible to insert the fastener in the opening in the ordinary way by merely moving lug then engages the bottom of the tie-plate and opening. To make this possible, the lower portion of the shank is reduced in thickness so that by tilting the shank at an angle to the axis of opening 6 .itcan'be inserted therein until the 7 lug clears the lower end of the opening, where upon the shank can be straightened up. -The thereby'prevents the fastener from being removed as long as it is in an upright position.

Accordingly, as shown in Figs. 1 and f3, the

lower portion of the'shank on the side opposite to the lug is beveled downwardly toward lug I2 to such an extent thatiwhen the shank is dis- I posed at an angle'to the axis of opening 6 the the opening (Fig. '3) This permits the lower end of the fastener to be inserted in the tie-plate opening, The length of the beveled portion is great enough to allow the tilted fastener to be inserted far. enough into the tie-plate opening for the outer end of thelug to clear the lower end of the opening, as shown in Fig. 3. ,The

fastener can then be moved into upright position because thejlug can move-laterally under thebody of the tie-plate to the position shown in dotted lines. in Fig. 3. Before the fastener can as parallel to the rail as shown in dotted lines up in the tie-plate opening, arm ll is swung:

laterally through an arc until it engages the top transversely thereof "(Fig.j2), the'inclination of the, rail'base distorting thearm upwardly. The

no hole in the tie the fastener can be forced into it far enough to permit lug llto'clear the bottom of the tie-plate opening. Likewise,

- whether or not there is a hole in the tie' the shape of the lower end of the fastener aids the endof' the lug in cutting into the tie when the fastener is straightened up; and in cuttingits waythrough the tie when the fastener is turned to operative position.

It'is also a feature of this invention that upper arm I I is bowed downwardly from the shank and is provided adjacent. its outer end with a seat 13 which is the only part of the arm that engages the rail base (Fig. 1).. Consequently, due to the remainder of the arm being free of the. rail base, when the fastener is'turned to move the arm into position and the arm is distorted upwardly, the strain of the distortion is "distributed 7 throughout the length of the arm. As a result,

breakage of the arm from distortion is substantially eliminated 7 A fall fastener made in accordance with this invention can be successfully used with ordinary tie-plates adapted to receive, or which have ac tually been used with, [railroad spikes Onepiece fasteners of this type known heretofore have required tie-plates of special construction a or having openings of special shapes.

' Another use that can be made of this fastener is in clamping rails to structural memberssuch as I-beams on which the rails are supported.

be tilted for insertion in the tie-plate, its upper. arm must be in some 1 fposition other than overlying the rail base, such This use is illustrated in Fig. 6 wherein a fastener 2| of the same general construction as that described above is shown clamping a rail 22 to an I-beam 2 3. through an opening 24 in the supporting beam,

The fastener extends this opening being of substantantially'the same width as the portion of the fastener in the upper end thereof. To make it. possible to insert the fastener in the opening, the lower end portion of the fastener is beveled so that it can be inserted when tilted at an angle to the axis of the opening.

According to the provisions of the Patent Statutes, I have explained the principleand construc- 7 tion of my invention 'and have illustrated and ;.described what "I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I- desire to have .it'understood that, within the scopeof the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described. a

I claim:

1. A rail fastener for clamping a rail to a metal.

jection for engaging the bottom of said supporting member, the lower portion of the shank be-'- ing reduced in thickness whereby the fastener can be inserted in ,said opening only by tilting the shank at. an angle to the axis of theopening until said lateral projection clears'the lower end 7 thereof and only when said arm' is at the side i of the rail base, said fastener being adapted to of the rail base and is then driven into position be turned in said opening to swing said arm into engagement with the top of the rail base, and said arm being reduced in thickness with its free end extending downwardly for engaging a the top of the 'rail'base at a point spaced in-l wardly from the edge thereof whereby the arm is adapted to be distorted upwardly by said base to thereby positivelyclamp the rail on said metal. supporting member. 1 7

2. A rail fastener for clamping a rail to a tie plate mounted on'a wooden tie and provided with a substantially square spike hole at the edge of ing thebottom of said tie plate, the free end of the arm extendingdownwardly for engaging the top of the rail base at a point spaced inwardly from the edge thereof, the lower portion of the shank being reduced in. thickness whereby the fastener can be inserted in said spike hole only by tilting the shank at an angle to the axis r of the'hole until said lug clears the lower end thereof and only when said arm is at the side of the rail base, said fastener being'adapted tobef gagement with the top of the rail base, said arm being adapted to be distorted upwardly by the rail base to therebyLclampthe rail on the tie plate, and said lug being; provided with edges 'turned in said hole, to swing said arm into en-,

the rail base, ,saidfastener being inthe form of a rod having a straight vertical shank and ra V laterally extending arm integral with the upper 

